Press Conference
by Sherlock River Hekate
Summary: After battles the Avengers have to do press conferences. Emily and Wong have no interest in participating, and Tony wants to keep Peter far away from them. So the solution is to send Peter to the Sanctum.


"Is my presence needed at the press conference?" Emily asked, leaning tiredly against the elevator wall.  
"No idea. Ask Stark or Rogers," Doctor Strange replied as the elevator came to a stop.  
The door slid open and both masters of the mystical arts walked into the common room. Wong was already there, talking quietly with Bruce Banner. He glanced across at them, but continued his conversation.  
"Hey, Tony!" Emily called out. "Do you need me at the press conference?"  
The billionaire shared a look with Steve, before Steve replied.  
"No, neither you nor Wong have to be there, Strange can answer any questions regarding the three of you."  
Emily sighed in relief. "Wonderful. In that case, I'll shower and then head back to the sanctum. "  
She strode towards the doors that led to the plentiful guest rooms, but Tony stopped her as she walked past.  
"As you're not going to be there, you can make sure this one isn't either." He gestured to a couch, where Peter lay with his limbs everywhere and his mask on the floor.  
"Aww, Mr Stark! Why can't I be at the press conference?" Peter protested.  
"Firstly, you'd have to stay in costume, kid. Which, no offense, is filthy and kinda stinky. Secondly, you look about ready to drop and I doubt you want to fall asleep on live TV."  
The teen thought for a moment, before shrugging. "I suppose you have a point."  
Emily looked across at Peter. "If you want, I'll get pizzas and your friends can watch the press conference at the sanctum with me?" Emily offered.  
Wong glared at her a moment, but she smiled back when Peter practically leapt from the couch to grab his phone.  
"The press conference is in an hour, so everyone might want to start showering," Steve suggested.  
At that, everyone broke off in different directions, the Tower's occupants to their own floors, Peter to his own room on Tony's floor and the rest to guest rooms.

Ned, MJ , Peter and Emily were sitting in front of the TV at the sanctum, Wong having just left the room to collect the stack of pizzas.  
The press conference had just started, with the Police commissioner giving statistics like how many people were injured (no fatalities, thankfully), which buildings were damaged and which streets were closed off. Once the pizzas were placed in the floor, the group made a semicircle around the food, and quickly dug in.  
"Do you think we should leave some for Doctor Strange?" Ned asked as, on the screen, Steve attempted to answer why this particular villain chose to attack New York.  
"Stephen can find something to eat for himself," Wong scoffed.  
Ned looked over at Emily, still worried.  
"It's alright, Ned," She assured him. "We have plenty of leftover food in the fridge, or we can order another pizza when he gets back."  
"Wouldn't Doctor Strange eat at the tower with the rest of them?" MJ asked.  
Emily shook her head. "You're good at reading people, MJ. Look at all of them and tell me what you see."  
Everyone ate in silence for a bit, paying attention to what was on the screen.  
The contemplation and assessment was broken when Peter shouted out.  
"That's not what happened!" He turned to everyone in the room. "I didn't web up that guy 'cause I MISSED. He was trying to steal some of the robot parts, so I webbed his hands together until he was evacuated. "  
"Dude, really? Someone was trying to steal with the Avengers around?" Ned asked incredulously.  
"Shut up," MJ hissed. "Stark's about to answer the reporter."  
Turns out the answer that Tony gave me was a mix between Spiderman missed and that the man was acting in a suspicious or dangerous manner. Emily was impressed how the answer cleared Spiderman without making him look silly and also not accusing a civilian without evidence.  
"They all want to get back and relax in their own way." MJ answered the earlier question. "Every one of them is tired and sore. A few, like Captain Rogers, Stark and Doctor Strange are occasionally squinting at a flash or flinching at a louder voice."  
"That's 'cause the reporters are LOUD," Peter muttered.  
Realisation dawned on Ned's face. "They're tired and it's causing a bit of an overload, right?"  
Emily nodded while Wong muttered. "Oh, they aren't so stupid after all."

The pizza was gone and it looked like the press conference was wrapping up.  
'Are we done here?'  
Emily's head snapped toward the TV, and then she groaned.  
"That's not how you address the media, Stephen," she complained at the screen.  
'What Doctor Strange means is, are there any more questions?' Captain America smiled his charming smile at the reporters.  
'No, I agree with Strange.' Clint piped up. 'We've answered so many questions and honestly I'm exhausted after saving the city. I want to sleep for a week.'  
'I think it might be a good time to end this conference.' Tony stood and took charge. 'If you have any more questions, feel free to contact the HR department.'  
The rest of the team stood and filed out after Tony.  
As they left the screen, Emily's phone went off.  
She looked around for it, only to realise it was on the coffee table on the other side of the room.  
"MJ, pass me my phone? And tell me who it is?" She asked.  
The girl reached behind her and snagged he phone, glancing at the screen before passing it across.  
"It's from Ms Potts," MJ's eyes widened a little and Emily scrunched up her face.  
"I should have guessed. She'll want to talk about what Stephen just said. Probably try and train him for press conferences too." Emily looked at Wong.  
"You want to explain to him why that," she waved at the TV, "Isn't something he's supposed to do?"  
She looked pleadingly at the other sorcerer.  
Wong shook his head. "Definitely not."  
Emily flopped backward dramatically.  
"Someone save me!" She said to the ceiling.  
"I'll do it," MJ volunteered.  
Emily looked at her and then shrugged.  
"Okay. You seem scary enough that he might actually listen.

Few moments later a portal opened in the hallway and Doctor Strange walked through.  
"That was more exhausting that the battle," he announced.  
Then he saw MJ, Ned and Peter.  
"Hi kids. Good job today, Peter. "  
"Thanks, Doctor Strange."  
Emily opened another portal in the room.  
"Alright guys, home time. MJ, I'm going to hold you to that, so I'll see you tomorrow."  
The four of them stepped through and the portal closed behind them.  
Once the portal had closed, Doctor Strange noticed the empty pizza boxes on the floor.  
"You ate it all?!" He exclaimed. "You got pizza and couldn't even leave me some? That's the thanks I get for protecting New York and using all my energy keeping this dimension safe. And then going to a press conference so you don't need to be here, and this is how you repay me?"  
Wong snorted. "Stop being so dramatic. I'll order you one that you won't even have to share."  
Settling into a chair, Stephen Strange smiled. The pizza was going to be good.


End file.
